Sport

Shaun Murphy finds his spark in Masters win

SHAUN Murphy believes he has finally flipped the switch on his form after beating both a blackout and a two-frame deficit to open up his Masters campaign with a win over Ding Junhui.

The match was delayed for an hour and 20 minutes after Alexandra Palace suffered a power cut – and Trafford-based Murphy took a while to find his own spark.

But after finding himself down by four frames to two, the 2012 Masters finalist stormed to victory by 6-4 to book his place in the second round and a clash with Hong Kong potter Marco Fu on Thursday.

The New Year brings new hope for 31-year-old Murphy and while admitting Fu is a formidable opponent, the man nicknamed the Magician insists his game is starting to click into gear just at the right time.

“I have been working dead hard on my snooker and getting absolutely nothing for it,” said Murphy. “It’s the turn of the new year and maybe it’s the turn of the tide for me.

“The power cut, the walk-on music, I don’t know what it was but that was a massive win for me in terms of the season and how my results are going.

“Last week I had a 147 down in the Championship League and it goes to show I’m playing well, getting used to my new cue and all the rest of it.

“All that’s been lacking is a few results and who knows, maybe this win could be the turning point.”

The lights powered down just as Murphy was being introduced to the ‘Ally Pally’ crowd, but he insists his focus never strayed.

In fact, he said it was just like paying coins into the meter on the practice tables back home in Urmston.

"I practise in a conservative club in Urmston, if you don’t put 50ps in the slot the light goes out. So I’m used to playing in the dark, it doesn’t make any difference to me.

“There were a few twitchy moments with missed shots but I’m just thankful to be in the next round.”

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